14 August 2011 NBA Star Glen Rice Visits Sadili Oval Basketball

NBA Star Glen Rice (in royal blue) with the boys after practice

Sadili Oval Basketball Academy players had a wonderful surprise when, world famous NBA basketball player, Glen Rice (rtd), landed at their court during a quiet Sunday practice session. LA Lakers supporter and Malezi School's 3rd Man, Zack Okong'o exclaimed, "Its unbelievable, who would have thought that such great people can come to see such simple people like us, now I know that anything is possible." Glen spent about 40 minutes at the simple court, training the players and giving each of them his thoughts on how to improve. Amadou Fall, V-P NBA in Africa said that he was impressed and hoped to get more linkages for the academy and players in the near future. Says Academy Director Liz Odera, "I was so excited to have such wonderful visitors, I forgot to take pictures! Seriously? I have talked about one day something like this happening years ago, and when it began to happen, I was swept up in the excitement like a kid". 
Rice played college basketball for the University of Michigan Wolverines for four seasons (1985–1989), where he became the school's all-time leading scorer with 2,442 points. He led Michigan to the 1989 NCAA Men's Division 1 Basketball Championship, scoring an NCAA-record 184 points in tournament play, a record that still stands. Rice played in 1000 games in the NBA from 1989-2004. He was a three-time All-Star who finished with career averages of 18.3 points and 4.4 rebounds in 1,000 regular-season games with the Miami Heat, Charlotte Hornets, Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks, Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Clippers. He finished with 18,336 career points. Rice peaked as a member of the Charlotte Hornets in the 1996-1997 season when he was third in the league in scoring behind only Michael Jordon and Karl Malone, averaging 26.8 points per game. Rice played in 55 career playoff games, averaging 16.1 points and 4.5 rebounds. He averaged 16.3 points in three All-Star games. Rice earned an NBA championship ring as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers for the 2000 NBA Championship vs. the Indiana Pacers.